Locals in Rumbek commend peacekeepers for protecting South Sudanese lives and property

Local artist Mr Red Bullet takes the stage to perform during UN Peacekeepers Day

30 May 2018

Locals in Rumbek commend peacekeepers for protecting South Sudanese lives and property

Peter Ring Ariik Kuol

Joyful songs and speeches reverberated in Rumbek, South Sudan, as the area marked the International Peacekeepers’ Day, with locals commending the role played by United Nations peacekeepers in preventing the conflict in the country from spiraling out of control.

“This is the right time and forum for us civil society organizations to wholeheartedly express our sincere thanks to the UN mission for protecting lives and property of common South Sudanese, following the December 2013 crisis,” said Mr. Isaac Majier, a representative of a local civil society organisations.

Like in Rumbek, the 70th anniversary of the United Nations Peacekeepers Day was marked across the South Sudan with speeches and entertainment by local artists and women’s cultural groups.

Locals expressed their gratitude to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) for safeguarding the lives of South Sudanese civilians and promoting peace through different peacebuilding activities. According to the civil society network in Rumbek, without UNMISS, South Sudan would have gone into untold turmoil following the outbreak of war in December 2013.

Commending the role of peacekeepers, head of the UNMISS Field Office in Rumbek, Kwame Dwamena Aboagye, urged citizens of the Lakes region to support the ongoing disarmament exercise for durable peace to prevail.

“I am taking this platform to urge citizens of Lakes region to support the ongoing disarmament exercise to pave way for UNMISS to initiate peacebuilding programs aimed at attaining durable peace in the region,” Dwamena stated.

Peacekeepers make great sacrifices, serving at great personal risk and under harsh conditions, while their families share in that sacrifice. More than 3,700 have paid with their lives in the past 70 years of United Nations peacekeeping. In that period, peacekeepers have helped bring peace and stability to a range of countries including, most recently, in Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, Timor Leste and Liberia.